Washington State's Rosemary Longisa Claims NCAA 1,500-Meter Title

EUGENE — Rosemary Longisa arrived at Saturday's 1,500-meter national final as the leading contender, and the Washington State sophomore did not disappoint, securing a decisive win that marks her first NCAA championship and solidifies her legacy as a standout at the university.

Despite the challenging heat in Oregon, Longisa maintained her composure throughout the race, pacing herself before accelerating in the final stretch. She finished with a time of 4:12.10, a comfortable 0.79 seconds ahead of South Carolina's Salma Elbadra, who took second place.

"I'm so happy. It's like, I came here for a comeback, in a good way," Longisa expressed to ESPN after her victory. She had previously earned a second-place finish in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March.

This win caps off an impressive season for the young runner from Kenya, who has been on a remarkable streak, highlighted by a record-setting time of 4:02.55 in April, the fastest in the nation this year and the second-best in NCAA women's history for the 1,500 meters. Longisa also dominated her semifinal heat earlier in the week with a time of 4:06.41.

With this achievement, she has become the first woman from Washington State to win the national title in the 1,500-meter event and the first Cougar woman to claim any national title since 2003. This championship marks the fourth in the history of WSU's women's track program, and with two seasons remaining, Longisa has ample opportunity to add to her accolades.

In another event, University of Idaho junior Constanze Paoli finished 11th in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase national final, clocking in at 10:08.28. BYU's Taylor Lovell won that event with a time of 9:21.03. Paoli had previously set a program record to win the Big Sky championship and broke her own record again in the national semifinals.